This week’s quality tip will help you build upon last week’s tip that checked if your agency is reporting certification numbers correctly. Remember it doesn’t matter what software you use for your ePCR, you can still use the VPHIB Report Writer to check your data.

This week we ask that you check your providers’ first and last names. As a system that collects health care information each provider/user account in the VPHIB system must tie back to a single person. The use of “ride along”, observer, Company 15, ABCVRS member, 30112Smith, John etc. cannot be allowed in the VPHIB system.

We understand that there are multiple scenarios that can occur in the many different systems within Virginia. So, if your agency has a situation where it needs to document a non-member we recommend adding the name or description in your narrative or creating a “user defined question” that you can use for documenting non-members on your units.

This way of documenting non-agency persons on your units should not be used as a replacement for entering your agencies staff into the VPHIB system. Instead it is to protect your data, the quality of data available to you and OEMS, and allow you to document ride-alongs, students, and extra persons that provide your crew with assistance.

A report to check your agency’s compliance with the reporting of staff names can be found in Report Writer 2 and will only take a couple minutes to run. To find the report, open Report Writer 2; in the “All Reports” area go into the “Service Information” folder. The report is called “Provider First & Last Name QA.”

A more detailed version of this notice can be found in the VPHIB Support Suite knowledgebase within the Data Quality Tips folder.

Please take a couple minutes to make sure your VPHIB staff is correct and complete. OEMS periodically reviews accounts and removes items that are entered incorrectly. The more you help us make our EMS system data strong the less we have to tighten the program to prevent bad data.